Major new works by James Primosch, Stephen Albert & Christopher Patton performed by the 21st Century Consort.

The 21st Century Consort, founded in 1975, performs an annual concert series at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Under the direction of its founder and conductor, Christopher Kendall, the Consort's artists include principal players from the National Symphony Orchestra, along with other prominent chamber musicians from the Washington, DC area. In addition to its history of touring, broadcasts and recordings, the Consort's four decades of performances have been recorded live and comprise a growing archive of contemporary music. For this recording, they have chosen three major works, two of which (Christopher Patton's Out of Darkness and James Primosch's Sacred Songs and Meditations) were commissioned by the 21st Century Consort. Stephen Albert's music has long been championed by the 21st Century Consort so the inclusion of his Cathedral Music on this recording is especially fitting.

Review:

Two things struck me immediately. One is that while Washington's National Cathedral might seem a cavernous, hyper-reverberant setting for such a concert, the Albany engineers came up with rich, clear sound…the other is that Maestro Kendall's ensemble made up of National Symphony musicians and several high quality DC-area free-lancers is a fine one. (American Record Guide)